Thomas, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, wrote on X that the bettor shouted personal insults at her and ‘followed me around the track as I took pictures and signed autographs for fans’ at Franklin Field on Sunday. The man had posted a video clip of himself on X yelling at Thomas prior to the women’s 100-meter dash, and boasting that the interaction had helped him win a parlay bet.
‘Anybody who enables him online is gross,’ Thomas wrote in her post.
‘Honestly the heckling is tolerable,’ she added in a second post. ‘It’s following me around the stadium that’s wild.’
In the video clip, the bettor is heard calling Thomas a ‘choke artist’ and referencing the fact that she is Black and her fiancé is White. He also posted screenshots on X of two separate bets he had made on FanDuel, indicating that he had won more than $1,000 on parlay bets that included the women’s 100-meter dash, in which Thomas finished fourth.
In response to a direct message from USA TODAY Sports seeking comment, the bettor, whose real name is not listed on his X account, disputed Thomas’ characterization that he was following her around the stadium and expressed his reasons for disliking her. When asked for his name and city of residence, he first asked that he be identified only by his X handle, then gave a reporter a fake name. He said he resides in Puerto Rico.
‘Grand Slam Track is conducting a full investigation into the reprehensible behavior captured on video,’ the track league said in a statement. ‘We are working to identify the individual involved and will take appropriate action as necessary.’
Thomas has become one of the most popular athletes in track and field during the past few years after winning three gold medals at the 2024 Paris Games – including in her signature event, the 200-meter dash – to go along with a bronze and silver from the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo. The 28-year-old is one of several athletes who have become outspoken about harassment and other troubling interactions they have had with fans.
Thomas said on TikTok earlier this year that she has been confronted at airports in multiple cities by the same small group of adult men, who approached her with a stack of photos, asked her to sign them and became aggressive when she declined.
‘They have my flight information, and they show up at the front door of the concourse, or they show up at my gate, which means they have flight tickets and get past security,’ Thomas said in the video.
Thomas’ interaction Sunday also highlights the overlap of harassment and sports betting, which some athletes and leagues have highlighted as an increasingly worrisome issue. A report published by major governing bodies in tennis late last year found that nearly half of the abusive social media posts that were directed at players came from angry bettors.
Several Major League Baseball players have talked about receiving online death threats following poor performances, including Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr., who told The Associated Press last week that the threats prompted him to get 24-hour security for his family.
‘It used to be fans who were upset because you blew the game for the team, but now it’s gambling,’ MLB pitcher Paul Sewald told USA TODAY Sports last summer. ‘These people don’t really care about the (team). They just care about their bets, and we’re talking about money they don’t have that they are losing. So, it’s a very scary spot.’
Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @tom.schad@bsky.social.
